Curtain for sleeping-berths of cars



(No'ModeL) P. W. GATES. CURTAIN FOR SLEEPING BERTHS 0P GAR-S.

Patented Dec. 24, 1895.

WITNESSES AN DREW EGRANAM, FMOTO-UTIOU. WASHINGTON. D C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PHILETUS W'ARREN GATES, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CURTAIN FOR SLEEPlNG-BERTHS OF CARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent No. 551,954, dated December 24, 1895. Application filed September 7, 1893. Serial No. 484,963. (No specimens.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, PHILETUS WARREN GATES, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Curtains for Sleeping Berths; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in curtain attachments for sleeping-berths on railway-trains; and its obj ectis to provide improved curtains for preventing the light from a lamp in the car shining into the upper berth, and a further object is to provide curtains that can be readily adjusted at night and drawn back out of the way during the day. I attain these objects by the peculiar construction and combination of the devices, as will be hereinafter more particularly set forth and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a transverse section through a sleeping-car to which my invention is applied; and Fig. 2 represents a front elevation of two sleeping-berths, showing my arrangement of the curtains on the upper berth.

A in the drawings represents the car-body; B, the upper berth; O, the lower; D, the usual front curtains, and E the light.

The fronts of the berths are covered by the curtains D,which are supported by rings upon the curtain poles or rods d. The light E usually shines directly into the upper berth over the top of said poles d, and to obviate this I provide my adjustable curtains F. These curtains are constructed of any suitable flexible curtain material of sufficient textile denend with a weighted strip and balls ff, respectively, by means of which they are held in their several adjusted positions. Each curtain is of such length that when one end is hanging over the rod d the Weights of the opposite end will contact with the end roller a. The Weights at the opposite end come in contact with the roller 0. when the curtains are pulled back, and thus prevent them from moving farther. The rollers are placed a sufficient distance from the roof to allow the weighted strips and balls on each end to pass them.

I provide two of my curtains to each upper berth, so that the occupant can partly or wholly shut out the light as he desires. It will be seen that the position of the curtains are such that they exactly intercept the light that would shine into the berth from the lamp E.

By constructing the curtain F of proper length and with weighted ends and arranging it with its rear end close to the vertical side wall of the car-body, they can be very conveniently manipulated by the occupant of the berth for theadmission of light; a like convenience of manipulation by the occupant of the berth is secured for placing the curtains over the curtain-bar to exclude the light, and While the benefits mentioned are obtained the expense of applying curtains like F to sleepin g-cars is very slight,no material change in the construction of the roof of the car being required.

WVhat I claim as my invention is- 1. The combination with 'a sleeping car berth, curtain supporting means arranged along the top of the same, a curtain passing over said supports and provided with weights at each end, whereby it is held in any desired adjusted position, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a sleeping car berth, of rollers and a curtain forming a part of the top of the berth and passing over said roller, and suitable weights attached to the respective ends of the curtain for holding it in the desired adjusted position, substantially as described.

- In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

PHILETUS WARREN GATES.

WVitnesses:

RYERsoN D. GATES, HENRY W. I-IoYT. 

